Methyl bromide emissions from a south Goulburn timber yard are well below safe levels, says the Environmental Protection Authority.
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The agency undertook testing at Chicago Freight Rail Services’ facility in April in response to community concerns about emissions of the substance, used to treat timber. Some residents complained they could smell the compound and took up the matter with Goulburn Mulwaree Council and the EPA.
But in an address to Tuesday’s council meeting, the Authority’s regional operations officer Michael Heinze said levels were well below regulated criteria.
Officers collected and analysed 33 air samples at the yard, on Sloane Street and as far afield as the waste management centre. They were taken over both a 24-hour and five-day period from April 5 on what Mr Heinze described as a still, cold day with light easterly winds blowing.
It was designed to replicate a “worst case scenario” of methyl bromide’s dispersal after opening six containers.
A National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accredited laboratory analysed the samples using what the EPA described as “precise techniques capable of detecting methyl bromide to the smallest concentrations possible (down to parts per billion (ppb).”
“The results were quite encouraging,” Mr Heinze said.
“...It gives us confidence the results are consistent with the assessment information put to the council and which the EPA assessed as well.”
The highest one-hour concentration measured at a community location was 0.01 ppm, nine times lower than the EPA assessment benchmark of 0.09 parts per million (ppm) and 500 times below the Safe Work Australia standard of 5ppm. The maximum measured 24-hour concentration at a community location was 0.0025ppm, equivalent to 36 times below the EPA assessment benchmark.
A full report and summary will be publicly released in a month and posted on the EPA website.
Mr Heinze said Sydney air experts had described the exercise as the most comprehensive monitoring in NSW, if not Australia.
“It was quite important to get it right so we got in the air quality experts from Sydney to run the program and employed an independent contractor, Ektimo, who are leaders in their field, to run the monitoring,” he said.
The exercise involved consultation with the community and the council.
In response to a question from Cr Sam Rowland about whether the levels were safe for humans, Mr Heinze said he was not a health expert but the criteria were based on health standards.
In a statement, an EPA spokeswoman said the agency was confident the right management measures were in place at the CF Rail Services “to safeguard the community and environment.”
“The EPA will continue to review the company’s operations to monitor their compliance with the licence requirements,” she said.
Mayor Bob Kirk said he and general manager Warwick Bennett had previously met with the EPA about the matter.
“The (methyl bromide) levels are so far below the requirement, the notion that people can smell it is, according to the EPA, not possible,” he said.
“It’s good and the reason we wanted a report was to allay people’s concerns.”